I have not had the spare time to work on genealogy the last week or so. But as today is Surname Saturday I thought I would post on the Christopher name and how it fits into my family tree.
The earliest Christopher I have been able to tie in with my family is John Christopher (b. abt 1765 in VA and d 1840 in Lunenburg VA). He was married to Nancy Ussery (1766 –1811). They married on 19 Dec 1787 in Lunenburg VA. Later after her death, he married Elizabeth Winn (1790– 1853) on 19 Dec 1821.
Lunenburg County is between Richmond and Raleigh and was formed in 1746 from Brunswick County. John Christopher’s name appears in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses in Lunenburg county.
From the union of John and Nancy our next Christopher ancestor is born: Robert Christopher (b 15 Dec 1804 in Richmond VA and d15 Sept 1853 in Nevada County AR). He married Mary Eliza Neal on 28 Jan 1833, probably in AL. They immigrated to Arkansas around 1844 and settled in Nevada County, twenty miles south of Prescott. They are both buried in the family cemetery on their property. Mary Eliza Neal is the granddaughter of Samuel Neal, who is a patriot. My daughter Carolyn and I joined the DAR through this line.
Of the thirteen children they had one was my 2nd great grandmother, Cornelia Ewell Christopher (b 22 Sept 1838 in Lowndes, AL and d 24 Oct 1918 in Texarkana, Miller, TX). She married John E. Cook in 18 Apr 1860 in Washington County, AR) They are both buried in State Line Cemetery in Texarkana, AR. John was reportedly a magnificent orator and one of the finest criminal lawyers that southwestern Arkansas ever produced. He also served in the 19th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry (Dockery’s) during the Civil War. All I know about Cornelia was that she was an exceptional woman.
The Christopher’s are the source of our “oil money.” The descendents share in the dividends of what was once three oil wells Two have been capped I believe, so the “oil barons” as my sister calls them each get a dollar or two once or twice a year from this last working well.
The well is in Troy Field, Nevada county, AR. It is named for the town of Troy which is four miles southeast of the field. The field is three miles long and has an average width of half a mile.
Other that the facts stated above I do not have a sense of who the Christopher’s were. So that will be my future task.
Till next time, mk
MK's Family Page 
Matrilineal Monday « MK's Family Page said,
August 8, 2011 at 4:01 pm
[…] have found out a lot of information about Joe E. Cook, my grandmother’s father and his wife, Cornelia Christopher Cook. I also know some about Joe’s father, John E. Cook, who I have not talked about in this […]